A Quick Update

I keep writing half a blog post, then failing to complete. Hopefully that won't happent to this one! Instead of trying to write anything deep, meaningful or profound, just some thoughts on Lusaka, and Zambia.

Lusaka is not the prettiest of cities. It is sleepy, flat and dusty (at least during the dry season). But people are friendly, and I am happy to be here and have made it home.

But there are parts of Zambia that are absolutely amazing! Almost a month ago now, Kate, Elena, Mardieh and I headed down to Livingstone, where we met up with former college roommate and fellow MPH-er (only at UMich), Kari, to see Victoria Falls. I can't think of anything I have ever seen that compares, and nothing anyone told me came close to preparing me for the wonder of seeing this natural wonder in person.

A few weekends later, I had the opportunity to go north of the city for a hiking/camping trip with some friend I have met since being here. While Victoria Falls was wonderful for the sheer amazingness (is that a word), this trip was wonderful for a whole host of reasons - the feeling of getting out of the city and being in the middle of nowhere, lying out under the enormous southern hemisphere night sky, hiking a mountain that has no map, and sharing a weekend with the kind of friends who's company you can enjoy even when you are tired and can't find the way down a steep mountain, and who's presence literally keeps you warm in a tent at night!

It would be nice if life in Lusaka didn't go beyond the enjoyment of weekend trips and Wednesday night game nights, but life is even better now that work has become busy. When I first arrived in Zambia, I knew that I'd be sharing the job description I applied to with my roommate and co-intern, and I knew I would be adding more technical work on top of that. The first month or so of work started out slowly, with a joint project that - while I'm sure is helpful to our organization - is, erm, not all that much fun. I am really excited about the project that I have recently started however, and it promises to make me very busy over the coming months.

The NGO wanted someone to look at the issue of resource allocation - particularly looking at how the allocation of monitoring and evaluation trips is done between our central and provincial staff, and if there is a way to improve that process. In taking on this task, it has been clear that the challenge is much bigger, with vast inconsistancies in quality and follow up of reports, and over the next few months I will be working - essentially giving technical support - with our provincial offices and compiling a manual of best practices in M&E. While this means I won't have quite as much time as I had hoped for weekend excursions, I am excited for the opportunity to visit various provinces of Zambia. Ultimately, the work of our organization is to improve the logistics systems that provide commodities (ie, life saving drugs) to people where and when they need them. By improving the process of M&E in the provinces, I will be directly impacting lives - making sure that districts and facilities that are not providing the commodities they should be are recieving the training and follow up they need so that stock outs don't occur. It's kind of cool when you think about it.